Card picker mechanism



April 12, 1966 s. R. HALBERT ETAL 3,245,681

CARD PI CKER MECHANISM Filed NOV. 12, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS Sums R. HALBEET Q-J0HM HMAQNFJLL BY M) Kw ATTORNEYS April 1966 s. R. HALBERT ETAL 3,245,681

CARD PIGKER MECHANISM Filed Nov. 12, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS 8m R. H ALBERT 6530M HMAQMElLL.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent The present invention relates to picker mechanisms, for punched cards and similar sheet-like material and,

more particularly, to a picker mechanism for cards and sheet-like material operable at a high rate of; speed to provide, for rapid delivery of a card or the like from the apparatus. The present invention is relatedj to my co-pending patent application Serial No. 316,410 filed October 15, 1963, and now abandoned, for Card Picker Mech-.

anism.

The card picker mechanism of the aforesaid co-pending application is designed primarily for use with unpunched cards which present a solid, uninterrupted surface to the mechanism for picking and driving the card from the, apparatus. Specifically, the apparatus provides a plurality of endless, continuously rotating friction belts disposed in slots in a support plate for the stack of cards from which the lowermost card is to be picked. A vacuum is provided so as to pull the lowermost card toward the base plate and, when it is desired to pick a card, that is, to expel the lowermost card from the stack, the belts are raised into engagement with the card so as to drive it from the stack.

In the apparatus of the aforesaid application, the vacuum is developed in a chamber under the belts and communicates with the card supporting surface of the support plate through the spaces between the belts and the plate and also through slots formed in the plate between the belts. As previously indicated, the mechanism of the aforesaid application is designed for use primarily with unpunched cards and operates satisfactorily for this pur-. pose. The apparatus of the present invention is. intended to operate with either punched or unpunched cards and therefore, is a mechanism more universal in its application in that it is not restricted to the feed or picking of cards which have not been previously punched. Not only is the apparatus of the present invention useful with punched and unpunched cards but alteration of the mechanism to achieve this; purpose has led to a number of simplifications of the mechanism of the, aforesaid application.

Another area of the design of the prior application that requires modification in order to permit punched, as well as unpunched, cards to be picked is the gate mechanism. The aforesaid application provides a vacuum in the region of the gate so as to hold, the lowermost card against the base plate and a relatively closelyspaced, knife-edge is sufficient to hold back any upper card or the next uppermost card in the stack which tends to be transported with the lowermost card. However, when previously punched cards are to be expelled, the vacuum applied to the bottomrnost card tends to bleed through holes in the card and hold the adjacent card in engagement with the bottom card, tending to produce a jam. In accordance with the present invention, this difiiculty has been eliminated by an arrangement to be described in detail subsequently.

In addition, the special pneumatic throat permits separation of cards having wide thickness variations. Either socalled tear cards or cards with sheared or damaged leading edges may be picked with equal facility.

The apparatus of the present invention is adapted to be substituted for the apparatus of the aforesaid application in the card punch and card feed mechanism as disclosed in co-pending patent applications Serial No. 316,-

3,245,681 Patented Apr. 12, 1966 "'ice 298 for High Speed Card Punch Mechanism by Mac-. Neill and Belliuger filed October 15, 1963, and Serial No, 316,305 for Card Feed Mechanism by MacNeill and Bellinger also filed October 15, 1963. In order to render; the present invention useful in the aforesaid system, the apparatus must be capable of delivering cards at a rapid; rate and with sufiicient force to move the card through a friction load presented by spring fingers forming a part; of the card punch mechanism. More specifically, the ap paratus of the present invention must be capable of repet i. tive pic-king of cards from a stack and delivering the cards in 25 to 30 milliseconds at speeds of the order of' 200,- inches per second through a distance of 1 to 2 inches; and through about a one-half'pound friction load exerted thereon by the spring fingers of the card punch mech:

anism.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to.

provide a picker mechanism for cards or other sheet-like material which operates at a high rate of speed and which is capable of delivering randomly arranged punched and unpunched cards to a prescribed location through a rela-v tively large friction load in the card.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a high-speed picker mechanism for punched and unpunched cards and other sheet-like material in which a differential pressure is developed across the card, whether the cardis punched or unpunched, to maintain the low-, errnost card in contact with a support; plate of the 3P: paratus and in which drive belts are selectively extended above the surface of the base plate and into driving ar-. rangement with the card and wherein the mechanism for extending the drive belts also delivers a vacuum to the under side of the cards.

Yet another object of the present invention is to. pro-. vide a high-speed picker mechanism for data cards and other sheet-like material in which a plurality of drive belts are arranged to be selectively extended into engage. ment with a surface of the card; the belts being located under web portions of the punched card; :the apparatus further including an arrangement for delivering a vacuum to the bottom of the card through the belts so that the vacuum is supplied to the web portions of the card.

It is yet another object of the present invention to pro-, vide a high-speed picker mechanism for data cards and like sheet material in which a plurality of constantly rotate ing friction drive belts are initially disposed below. a surface of the support plate on which the lowermost card of a stack rests and in which a mechanism is provided for delivering a vacuum to the underside of the belts; the mechanism being movable so as to push the belts above the surface of the support plate and into engagement with the adjacent card surface whereby the vacuum holds the card against the belts; and the, belts drive the card from the mechanism.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a high-speed picker mechanism fordata cards and like material which mechanism includes a gate spaced above the surface of a base plate on which the lowermost card of a stack of cards restsand in which air is directed from the gate to the card stack region, at such an angle as to force the lowermost card into firm engagement with the base plate and to blow air between the lowermost card and any other card that tends to be delivered therewith so as to raise the other card and cause it to engage the gate and be stopped thereby.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a gate structure for card picker mechanisms which structure is insensitive to variations in card thickness and may be employed with cards varying in thickness by a ratio of three to one without adjustment of the throat at the gate.

Yet another object of the present invention 18 to provide a gate structure for card picker mechanisms which structure employs gas jets to separate cards when more than one card is fed from the stack so that the gate struc ture insures delivery of only one card but is insensitive to variations in width of the throat of the gate.

The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of one specific embodiment thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: p

' FIGURE 1 is an illustration of a data card which may be employed with the apparatus of the present invention; FIGURE 2 is a view in perspective of the support plate, the drive belts and the card stack holding region of the mechanism; I I

i FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a front view in elevation of the apparatus illustrating the belt and chunker mechanism; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the chunker.

Referring specifically to FIGURE 1 of the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a type of data or punched card which is described herein merely for purposes of reference in describing the apparatus of the present invention. The card, which is generally designated by the reference numeral 1, has a plurality of columns, generally designated by the reference numeral 2, in which holes or apertures may be formed by a punching mechanism in order to record information in the card. Information may be applied in accordance with a decimal code, a binary code or other well-known and suitable codes. As indicated immediately above, the various holes are punched in rows which extend parallel to the longitudinally extending edges of the cards and between each of these rows are web portions of the card which do not receive holes and supply the continuity of the structure. These web portions, which are generally designated by the reference numeral 3, remain continuous no matter how fully punched or laced a card may be and are of particular interest in the present invention. It will be noted that the web portions 3 extend along the longitudinal peripheries of the cards and also in strips between the various rows 2 in which information is to be recorded.

Referring now specifically to FIGURE 2 of the accompanying drawings, the apparatus of the present invention comprises a support plate 4 which is bounded at its upper and lower edges by top and bottom plates 6 and 7, respe'ctively. In normal use, the plate 4 is either in the vertical plane as illustrated or is inclined at a slight angle of the order of 15 to 20 with respect to the vertical, depending upon the particular physical arrangement desired. For purposes of explanation only, the support plate 4 is considered to be vertical. At the right edge of the apparatus as viewed in FIGURE 2, there is a gate structure 8 under which a selected card is to be fed. The cards in the picker mechanism rest against the bottom plate 7 and two or more rectangular bars 9 and 11 which lie in the same plane as the bottom wall 7 and extend outwardly therefrom. A card follower, which is not illustrated in the figures of the present invention but which is illustrated in the figures of the aforesaid co-pending application for Card Picker Mechanism, is adapted to ride on a pair of guide rails, only one of which is illustrated and designated by the reference numeral 12. The follower plate is either biased by gravity if the mechanism is inclined relative to the vertical or by springs towards the support plate 4 and lightly presses the card stack against the support plate.

The support plate in the present embodiment is provided with four slots which extend through the support plate 4 and are parallel to the top and bottom plates, 6 and 7, respectively. Endless friction belts 14 are normally disposed below the support plate 4 and are aligned with the rectangular slots 13 formed therein. Referring specifically to FIGURES 3 and 4, the belts 14 are each disposed about a different pair of pulleys 16 and 17. The pulleys 16 are power pulleys and the pulleys 17 are idler pulleys. All of the pulleys 16 are secured to a shaft 18 driven by means of a continuously rotating drive motor 13 through a suitable gearing or belt and pulley arrange: ment. The idler pulleys 17 are supported on a shaft 21 and the shafts 18 and 21 are journaled in and between the top and bottom plates 6 and 7, respectively.

Each of the belts 14 is provided with a plurality of apertures or holes 22 positioned so as to be aligned with the web portions 3 of the card 1 illustrated in FIGURE 1. Normally, these belts are located so as to be disposed below. the surface of the support plate 4 which engages the lowermost card of the stack so that, under normal circumstances, there is no engagement between the card and the belt and the cards are held in the picker mechanism. Disposed generally centrally of the longitudinal length of the belts 14 and between the upper and lower portions thereof is a chunker mechanism 23 which is employed to provide a vacuum to the apparatus and also employed to force the belts 14 into engagement with the bottommost card of the stack; that is, the card which is in engagement with the support plate 4. The chunker mechanism 23 is preferably fabricated from a relatively tough, plastic material having a low coefiicient of friction, the material Delrin being one example of a material which is suitable for use in the apparatus of the invention. The chunker mechanism 23 has a generally square, crosssectional area and a rectangular longitudinal cross-section. The chunker 23 extends under all of the belts 14 and is provided with a generally U-shaped channel which is confined between its four walls.

Referring specifically to FIGURE 5 of the accompaying drawings, there is illustrated a perspective view of the chunker 23 having as its upper surface the surface as viewed in FIGURE 4. The upper surface of the chunker has four upstanding, rectangular portions 26 each disposed adjacent a different one of the belts 14 in the region of the slots 13- formed in-the support plate 4. The upstanding, rectangular portions 26 each is provided with an elongated aperture 27 which extends into communication with the U-shaped passage 24. Thus, a vacuum formed in the channel 24 communicates with the surrounding atmosphere through the elongated apertures 27. Each of the members 26 extends outwardly from the base surface 28 of the chunkermechanism 23 by a distance which is suflicient to extend through the slots 13 in the base plate 4. The chunker mechanism 23 is also employed to extend the belts 14 into driving engagement with the base card of the stack which is in engagement with the support plate 4. When the chunker mechanism is moved clockwise with respect to an axis parallel to shaft 21, reference being made now to FIGURE 3 of the accompanying drawings, the surface 28 ap proaches the underside of the support plate 4 and the members 26 extend almost through the plate 4 and raise the belts 14 into engagement with the card contacting the vertical surface of the base plate 4 as viewed in FIGURE 3. The vacuum developed in the channel 24 communicates through the apertures 27 and the holes 22 in the belts 14 with the web portions 3 of the card 1 as viewed in FIGURE 1 so as to pull the card into tight frictional engagement with the belts 14 so that the card maybe removed from the stack and ejected from the mechanism.

A simple mechanism is provided for moving the chunker 23 and comprises a step motor 29 which oscillates through a prescribed angle which, with the proportions illustrated in the accompanying drawings, is, approximately 1.8". The step motor 29 has an upper plate 31 which is rotated by the stepping motor mechanism. Carried on the oscillatable plate 31 is a block 32. The block is centrally apertured as at 33 and, reference now being made vto FIGUREfZ of the accompanying drawings, receives or has extending therethrough a rigid pipe or hollow tube 34 adapted to have an air-suction hose 36 connected to its left end as viewed in FIGURE 2. The tube 34 extends to the right of the block 32 and is provided with a right angle bend as generally designated by the reference numeral 35 to provide a leg 37 thereof. The leg 37 of the hollow tube extends through an aperture 38 of the chunker block 23 (see FIGURE 5) and into communication with the channel 24 formed therein. The rigid tube 3437 may be fabricated from metal with the chunker block 23 molded thereon with the leg 37 slit internally of the chunker so as to communicate with the passage 24. The stepping motor 29 serves as a complete support for the chunker 23 and a connecting tube 3437. The particular arrangement employed permits the support and movement mechanism of the chunker to also supply the suction to the apparatus.

In operation, when it is wished to eject a card from the stack, the stepping motor 29 is energized so that the plate 31 is rotated clockwise as viewed in both FIGURES 2 and 3., This causes the upstanding members 26 of the chunker block 23 to enter the slots 13 and push the belts 14 into engagement with the card of the stack in contact with the support plate 4. Upon the upstanding members 26 engaging the belt, the suction developed in the channel 24 is transmitted directly through the holes 22 in the belt to the card, the card is clamped along its webbed sections -3 to the belts which are now raised above the surface of the support plate, and the card is driven to the right as illustrated in the figures. When it is desired to terminate the picking operation, the step motor 29 is energized so as to rotate the plate 31 counterclockwise, the chunker mechanism 23 is withdrawn into the position illustrated in FIGURE 3, the belts withdraw below the surface of the plate 4 and transport is terminated. At this point, the apertures 27 in the raised elements or portions 26 of the chunker block 23 are exposed to atmospheric pressure at both the front and rear of the belts and the suction against the card is broken. Thus, the air suction is sealed; that is, restricted in its communication, through the holes 22 to the card 1 only when a picking operation is commanded.

It will be noted that the top and bottom plates 6 and 7 are provided with slots 39 and 41, respectively. Riffiing air under low pressure is brought into a manifold 42, covering the slots 39, through a hose 43 while the slots 41 are open to the atmosphere. Air brought in through the slots 39 riffles the cards in the stack so as to tend to move the remaining cards away from the card in contact with plate 4 to ease the transport of the driven card by the mechanism. The rifiiing air passes through the stack and exits to the atmosphere through the slots 41 in the plate 7.

The gate mechanism of the present invention, which is illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3, comprises a generally elongated block 44 extending between and perpendicular to the top and bottom walls 6 and 7 and having a lower surface generally designated by the reference numeral 46 parallel to and spaced a short distance from the adjacent surface of the support plate 4. The member 44 is provided with an air channel 47 sealed by a sealing or back plate 48; the channel 47 being wholly contained within the gate structure 44. Air under relatively high pressure is supplied to the chamber 47 through a high pressure air hose 49. A plurality of small passages 51 extend through the left face, as viewed in FIGURES 2 and 3, of the member 44 communicating at one end with the chamber 47 and at the other end with a region immediately above the plate 4. The jets are directed at an acute angle relative to the adjacent face of the plate 4 and, for purposes of illustration, are shown as lying at an angle of relative to this surface. The angle should be less than and 15 has been found to provide excellent results.

Y The plate 4 is provided with a plurality of apertures 52 aligned along the centerline of the passages 51 so that, in the absence of a card, the high-pressure air issuing from the passages 51 passes directly through the passages 52 into the surrounding atmosphere and does not in any way affect the cards in the stack. When a card is advanced by the mechanism towards the gate, the lowermost card, upon intercepting the jets from the passages 51 is blown down against the adjacent surface of the member 4. Ambient or reduced pressure is maintained at the surface of the card in contact with the plate 4 by means of the vent holes 52. Thus, the high pressure on the one side and the lower pressure on the other side of the card develops a large differential in pressure across the card.

which holds it firmly against the support plate at the throat. When two cards are advanced at the same time, there is no way of exhausting pressure that is developed between the two cards by the high pressure jets except by peeling back the upper card or cards to create an exhaust channel. This operation together with the angle at which the air issues from the vent 51, causes the second or additional cards to be raised. Specifically, the jets of air develop a pressure between the first and succeeding cards, forcing the one card against the support plate and raising the other cards so that they come into abutting relationship with the leading edge of the member 44. Thus, the throat becomes relatively insensitive both to card thickness and to tufts of card as are produced when preperforated cards are separated and handled independently. In consequence, the apparatus may pick cards varying in thickness by a ratio of three to one without throat adjustment.

In order to improve turbulent characteristics of the deflected air jets; that is, air jets deflected by a card being positioned over holes 52, the member 44 is recessed as at 53 at each vent location.

Continuing with the description of operation, once the card in contact with support plate 4 has been ejected, the fluid from jets 51 is exhausted through ports 52 and pressure under the raised card terminates. The raised end of the card now moves toward support plate 4, is picked up by the fluid jets and clamped against the support plate. If two cards had previously been raised, fluid pressure again forces the second card away fromthe plate 4.

It is seen that the apparatus of the present invention, due to the placement of the belts and the method of communicating vacuum through the belts to a card, is capable of picking a lowermost card of the stack of cards in the mechanism and rapidly transporting it through the gate structure to a further utilization mechanism. The pressure developed between the card and the belt is sufficient to permit the card to be delivered through a relatively large frictional force. A gate structure which, due to the utilization of high pressure air jets, positively clamps the lowermost card to the base plate and effectively raises any other card that may have been transported out of contact, at least at its leading edge, with the bottom or base card and insures a high degree of reliability of feed of only a single card.

Although the apparatus is illustrated and described as employing four belts, it is not intended to limit the apparatus to the use of a specific number of belts. The standard IBM card provides fourteen web portions so that, if desired, numerous belts may be employed.

While we have described and iliustrated one specific embodiment of our invention, it will be clear that variations of the details of construction which are specifically illustrated and described may be resorted to without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a picker mechanism having a support plate for sheet-like material to be delivered by said mechanism, a gate structure comprising a block located adjacent one end of said support plate and spaced from a surface of said plate by a distance approximately equal to the thickness of a sheet of said material, a chamber formed in said block, a plurality of apertures extending between said chamber and a surface of said block located remote from said one end of said support plate, said apertures extending at an acute angle with respect to the plane of said support plate, and a plurality of apertures located in said support plate along the centerline of said apertures in said block.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said angle is less than 25 3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said angle is approximately 15.

4. A picker mechanism for feeding sheet-like material comprising a support plate having a surface for support ing a stack of sheet-like material, a plurality of longitudinally extending slots in said support plate spaced transversely across the width of said plate, a plurality of endless friction belts each having a length thereof extending in and generally along the length of a different one of said slots, said lengths of said belts having first and second opposed surfaces normally disposed below said surface of said support plate, means for continuously driving said belts in a feed direction during operation of said mechanism, each of said belts having a plurality of spaced holes along the entire length thereof extending between said surfaces, feed initiating means for concurrently moving said lengths of each of said belts in a feed initiating direction so as to cause said lengths to have a surface disposed approximately in the plane of said surface of said support plate, said feed initiating means including means for developing a suction on said second side of said belts only when said belts are moved by said feed initiating means in a feed initiating direction.

5. The combination according to claim 4 further comprising a gate structure including a block extending across said support plate adjacent one endthereof, a chamber formed in said block, a plurality of apertures extending between said chamber and a surface of said block located remote from said one end of said support plate, said apertures extending at an acute angle with respect to the plane of said support plate, and plurality of apertures located in said support plate along the centerline of said apertures.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein said angle is roughly 15 7. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said means for moving comprises a generally hollow member extending under at least a portion of each of said lengths of said belts, apertures formed in said member under said portion of said length of each belt, means for developing a partial vacuum in said member, said means for moving, translating said member between a first and a second position, said member in said first position moving said length of said belts approximately into the plane of said surface of said support plate and in said second position being disposed sufiiciently remote from said belts to prevent a vacuum from being transmitted through said holes in said belt to an adjacent sheet-like material.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said apertures in said member are found in raised portions of said member each adapted to contact a different one of said belts.

, 9. The combination according to claim 7 further comprising a hollow tube, said member. being supported on one end of said hollow tube, and meansfor drawing a partial vacuum being connected to said hollow tube.

10. The combination according to claim 9 wherein said means for moving includes means for rotating said hollow tube about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof.

11. The combination according to claim 10 wherein said means for rotating comprises the sole support for said hollow tube and said member.

12. The combination according to claim 11 wherein said means for rotating is a rotary solenoid.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,093,654 9/1937 Bellamy 27l 35 3,069,157 12/1962 Mersereau et a1. 27l34 X 3,103,355 9/1963 Hubbard et afl. 271-5 3,126,200 3/1964 Rehm 27126 3,178,173 4/1965 Kalman 27134 X ROBERT REEVES, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Examiner.

W. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner. 

4. A PICKER MECHANISM FOR FEEDING SHEET-LIKE MATERIAL COMPRISING A SUPPORT PLATE HAVING A SURFACE FOR SUPPORTING A STACK OF SHEET-LIKE MATERIAL, A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLOTS IN SAID SUPPORT PLATE SPACED TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE WIDTH OF SAID PLATE, A PLURALITY OF ENDLESS FRICTION BELTS EACH HAVING A LENGTH THEREOF EXTENDING IN AND GENERALLY ALONG THE LENGTH OF A DIFFERENT ONE OF SAID SLOTS, SAID LENGTHS OF SAID BELTS HAVING FIRST AND SECOND OPPOSED SURFACES NORMALLY DISPOSED BELOW SAID SURFACE OF SAID SUPPORT PLATE, MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY DRIVING SAID BELTS IN A FEED DIRECTION DURING OPERATION OF SAID MECHANISM, EACH OF SAID BELTS HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED HOLES ALONG THE ENTIRE LENGTH THEREOF EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID SURFACES, FEED INITIATING MEANS FOR CONCURRENTLY MOVING SAID LENGTHS OF EACH OF SAID BELTS IN A FEED INITIATING DIRECTION SO AS TO CAUSE SAID LENGTHS TO HAVE A SURFACE DISPOSED APPROXIMATELY IN THE PLANE OF SAID SURFACE OF SAID SUPPORT PLATE, SAID FEED INITIATING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR DEVELOPING A SUCTION ON SAID SECOND SIDE OF SAID BELTS ONLY WHEN SAID BELTS ARE MOVED BY SAID FEED INITIATING MEANS IN A FEED INITIATING DIRECTION. 